Louisiana town bans purchases of all Nike products

The city of Kenner, Louisiana has banned the purchase of Nike products as of September 5th (Getty Images)

Nike sales have taken a 31 percent spike since it launched an ad campaign with former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick last week, but you won’t find a dollar spent on the swoosh from the city of Kenner, Louisiana.

The suburb of New Orleans has effectively banned any city money from being spent on Nike products as of September 5th, according to a private memo sent from town mayor Ben Zahn.

The memo, which leaked on social media, states in part, “under no circumstances will any Nike product or any product with the Nike logo be purchased for use or delivery at any city of Kenner recreation facility.”

No mention of Kaepernick

While the memo doesn’t explicitly call out the presence of Kaepernick in Nike ads as the reason for the ban, it’s hard to avoid connecting the dots. On September 3rd, Nike announced Kaepernick as the face of the new “Just Do It” campaign.

BREAKING: Nike had been paying Colin Kaepernick all along, waiting for the right moment. That moment is now, as he becomes the face of the company’s 30th anniversary of the “Just Do It” campaign. pic.twitter.com/uccpDStbq5

Protests against police brutality continue

Around the time the memo began circulating, the NFL was kicking off the first slate of games on Sunday afternoon. And while there weren’t too many players kneeling in protest of police brutality and racial injustice during the national anthem, two Miami Dolphins players continued to take a knee.